Following Wayne Parker and Dale Strong as their campaigns intersect today in battle for commission chair

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- On election eve, both were at intersections. That can be stretched into as many metaphorical shapes as you wish.

Dale Strong, left, and Wayne Parker are both vying for the Madison County Commission Chairman seat. (The Huntsville Times/File photos)

Intersections between history and future. Intersections of coincidence. An intersection of two noble men in a roiling arena none of us can fully appreciate without having taken the leap of faith into the arms of the voting public.

In a race that's become far too easy to simplify as city vs. county, Wayne Parker and Dale Strong, the candidates in today's Republican primary for the Madison County Commission chair's seat, were in fact at major intersections defining city and county Monday morning.

Car horns at Governors Drive and California, the site of disruptive construction work since the Nixon administration, usually blare angrily. On Monday morning, they beeped with a friendly tone.

Wayne Parker, his wife Lisa and two friends stood on the sidewalk, holding campaign signs from around 7 a.m. until 8, greeting commuters as they poured down from Monte Sano and into downtown.

Two hours earlier, Parker had greeted Madison County sanitation workers as they were beginning their morning rounds. No wonder, as Parker said, raising one of his signs, "I'm working up an appetite."

By 8 a.m., he left for the Blue Plate Cafe, with some coffee to cut the morning chill, a couple of eggs over-easy and wheat toast. After leisurely eating, he made the rounds of every table in the place, introducing himself to two dozen dinners, chatting with ease.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Parker said at the restaurant. "There's a sense of anticipation, but there's also a relief because these things can be tough for your family."

(Three hours later, Strong would echo the same sentiment, saying, "I think everybody, the candidates and the voters, are ready to get to the end of this.")

Campaigns, Parker said, "are wonderful experiences. They bring people together for a short period of time for a common purpose. It's a rich, relational experience."

After breakfast, the Parkers would hit the telephones. Sensitive to the annoying robocalls that seem more prevalent than ever, the personal calls would be simply reminders to supporters to go vote and to spread the word.

Then, with a wary eye on the skies, another intersection awaited later in the day.

At the intersection of Jeff Road and Blake Bottom sits a Conoco station that houses the Monrovia Market and Deli. Strong offered a description that ought to be the restaurant motto: "No green vegetables here."

A group was already hunkered down at 11 a.m., mostly discussing UAH basketball. Every vehicle in the parking lot sported a Strong bumper sticker. The candidate arrived a few minutes later. The greeting was not the sort to inflate an ego. The familiar crowd, which can range from corporate CEOs to mud-splattered construction workers, helps keep Strong grounded.

Knocking off a cheeseburger, Strong said, "I believe (my message) has resonated and we'll be rewarded for what we've done."

After lunch, he was going to make a strong push to remind voters of today's election.

Parker and Strong both come by the urge for public service through a strand of DNA that runs through generations of their families. And, in fact, their families have known each other for generations and some have even been neighbors.

When Strong visits Constitution Village, he stands where Melkijan Vaughan was one of 44 delegates to sign Alabama's original constitution in July 1819. Vaughan is his great-great-great grandfather.

When Parker walks into the Madison County Courthouse, he can see on the wall a portrait of Samuel Walton Fleming. He was the County Commission chair in the 1920s, representing the village of Whitesburg. Fleming is Parker's great-great grandfather.

Whose portrait next goes on the wall of the courthouse will be revealed tonight. In the meantime, there are still hands to shake, votes to seek as their fates intersect.

Contact Mark McCarter at mark.mccarter@htimes.com and follow him on Twitter @markmccarter